I think my flywheel key may be bent as I am unable to start tiller. Flywheel is very rusty but I am getting spark. I am unable to loosen the flywheel nut to check the key. Any tips on how to loosen? How to hold flywheel still while trying to turn nut? Counter-clockwise to loosen? Thanks in advance.

what is the model number and try thatnks! If the flywheel is not rusty on the side, everythings good . if the top is clean it doesnt matter

what is the model number and try thatnks! If the flywheel is not rusty on the side, everythings good . if the top is clean it doesnt matter

What do you mean, "if the top is clean it doesn't matter?

To humphrey: Yes it's counter clockwise to remove the nut. You can try a pipe wrench or a pair of channel locks on the "PTO" side of the crankshaft, otherwise there are special tools made to hold the flywheel. It would be unusual for the flywheel key to be sheared on a tiller, but not unheard of.

Have you tried to prime the carburetor with fresh fuel to see if it would run any at all?

Little rope down the cylinder works good to... turn it till the compression stroke hits... take the plug out and put a little rope down the cylinder and turn it till it stops...

I agree with 30.. try a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire off that before you go ripping it apart.

the top where the magneto is, if the top aint rusty then it wont have no trouble making a spark

the top where the magneto is, if the top aint rusty then it wont have no trouble making a spark

OK, now I at least know what you are talking about. Just to let you know, rust on the magnets will not prevent the coil from generating a spark, but you should clean off the rust before you attempt to set the air gap.

thanks for the correction 30yr. but my brigs 3 hp dont make a spark with rust on it, just shaved it off

thanks for the correction 30yr. but my brigs 3 hp dont make a spark with rust on it, just shaved it off
Well it ain't the rust stopping it from working! Rust has no effect on magnetic fields and will not prevent a coil from generating a spark. Look elsewhere for a problem the rust is not it.

Ditto... and I have seen some rusty ones! got great spark.

Thanks for all the great ideas. The rope down the cylinder is a very good one.

However, I decided that before I got into it further I would clean the rust and dirt off the flywheel. Before I did that I was getting a spark but a fairly weak one. I thought it was good enough but after I cleaned the flywheel up with a brass brush and some sandpaper and I also removed the magneto and cleaned it up the same way. I reinstalled the magneto and used the sandpaper to set the gap to the flywheel (.012). Then I got no spark at all as I rotated the flywheel by hand. So I then used a piece of paper to set the gap to .005 and tried again. This time I got a strong blue spark when rotating the flywheel by hand. Put the plug in and it fired right up on a couple pulls.

So I dont know if it was the dirty rust that was keeping it from running or the gap to the flywheel or maybe a combination of both but it is running good now. Thanks to all.

By removing and reinstalling the coil you probably corrected a bad ground to the block. Rust or corrosion on the coil laminations, and or mounting screws can cause a no spark condition, but the rust on the magnets won't.

Glad you got it working. :wave:

Little rope down the cylinder works good to... turn it till the compression stroke hits... take the plug out and put a little rope down the cylinder and turn it till it stops...

I agree with 30.. try a little gas down the carb and see if it will fire off that before you go ripping it apart.


Always wondered about doing this, will this hurt the rod or the rod bearings if a lot of torque is needed to remove that nut?

yeah, im always waiting for that question to come up :P

theres not a lot of tourque holding that nut on there to start with. if you use any of the methods the guys described earlier it should be a fairly simple task. it also helps to clean the threads on the shaft before trying to remove the nut. neither method will damage the con rod. the right size socket and a breaker bar will make it easy :wave:

thanks!